Pop Break Live: Indie Rock Road Trip featuring Weezer, Spoon and White Reaper at The FivePoint Ampitheater in Irvine, CA.
It may now be September, but for Weezer, summer’s never going to end. Rolling into town after a sprawling U.S. tour, Weezer, along with a rotating lineup of openers, have been bringing the Indie Rock Road Trip Tour to fans everywhere. They finally reached FivePoint Amphitheater in Irvine, California for the tour’s penultimate show and played to a sold-out crowd alongside indie darlings Spoon and garage rockers White Reaper.
FivePoint Amphitheater, which holds just over 12k fans and features over two dozen stalls for food, drinks, merch, and even lawn games like corn hole, was the perfect venue for the Indie Rock Road Trip Tour. The Orange County, laid-back vibe offered fans excellent views of the stage and three-course meals and drinks in-between sets. Before Weezer and Spoon took the stage, Kentucky-based garage band White Reaper started off the night with classic guitar sounds and singalongs not unlike that of Wyld Stallyons – the fictional band of Bill and Ted in the cult classic trilogy of films. Performing tracks from their fourth and most recent record Asking For a Ride, Reaper put the crowd in a great mood with songs like “Fog Machine,” “Pink Slip,” and “Raw,” radiating a fun, upbeat energy that made them a perfect billing partner to Weezer and Spoon.
Just after the sunset, Spoon immediately came out with the lively number “Wild” and kept the energy high for at least 30 minutes. Singer and guitarist Britt Daniel connected with the audience in a way that had fans at the far back of the amphitheater on their feet. Meanwhile, guitarist and keyboardist Alex Fischel was a joy to watch; his energetic guitar playing and way of dancing with the keyboard brought incredible excitement for an act that wasn’t even headlining the show, especially during memorable songs like “The Underdog.” In addition to playing the track “The Way We Get By,” often remembered for – fittingly – appearing on the early 2000s show The OC, Spoon played the dreamy throwback “I Summon You.” Britt Daniel’s plucky guitar gave way into an atmospheric synth sound that definitely made everyone sway with their hands in the air.
Later in their set, Spoon brought out lead singer and guitarist Tony Esposito from White Reaper to play a rousing and percussive-heavy rendition of “Rent I Pay.” It was so clear that the guys in Spoon were having a blast during their set, emanating the same positive vibes that Weezer really capture and exemplify in their records and live performances. Fan favorite “The Underdog” was a highlight of the night and got the entire crowd dancing and singing along.
Finally, Weezer took the stage for the penultimate stop on the Indie Rock Road Trip Tour, opening with classic throwback hit, “My Name Is Jonas.” As the song started, a black curtain fell and revealed the stage to be a gigantic car dashboard decked out with a wheel, radio dials, rearview mirror, and “windshield” that was a huge LCD screen appropriately showing animated roads. Fitting with the tour’s theme, Weezer took the crowd on a road trip across their discography, pit stopping in songs with places in their name like “Beverly Hills” and “Road To Ithaka.” Each song seamlessly flowed into another from older hits like “The Good Life” and “Pink Triangle,” to “Pork and Beans” and “El Scorcho.” With each song, the gigantic screen on our dashboard soars through U.S. landscapes, showcasing palm trees wearing sunglasses, groovy 70s images, and a boy wearing a Weezer shirt laying on a picnic blanket. At one point, lead singer and songwriter Rivers Cuomo approached the giant radio dials on the big dashboard and turned up the volume significantly before diving into his solo song, “Blast Off!”
The show took a fascinating turn when it became clear that Weezer wasn’t just interested in high-end stage production suitable for a stadium; mid-set, guitarist Brian Bell, bassist Scott Shriner, and drummer Patrick Wilson left the stage for Rivers to perform acoustic renditions of “The World Has Turned and Left Me Here” and “Susanne.” Before each track, Cuomo went into the brief history of his song’s creation, including a soft-spoken girl he met at school before the creation of Weezer, and the kind secretary who worked at their record label and took care of the band before anyone knew who they were. Cuomo similarly began “Only In Dreams” acoustic before the rest of the band joined him with an electric bang. The acoustic moments made the larger-than-life show feel incredibly intimate, if even for 10 brief moments.
Finishing off their set with another group of hits that sprawled across their career, Weezer tore through “Perfect Situation,” “Hash Pipe,” “All My Favorite Songs,” “Run, Raven, Run,” and “The Wasteland.” It felt like the entire venue was vibrating with energy during the closing track, “Buddy Holly,” reminding all the people that might’ve forgotten how entertaining, heartfelt, and connecting the experience of seeing Weezer live can be. Irvine will never forget the memorable stop that Weezer took on their Indie Rock Road Trip Tour.
